Family Quarantine

After coloring it was time to prepare our gourmet Ramen noodles lunch.  Darcy was on a hunger strike at that point and I was concerned that we were going to have a problem on our hands with her not eating.  She didn't want noodles, chips, or even cookies.  Thankfully she did toss back half a bottle of water, so Ian and I were at least not too concerned about her becoming dehydrated.

As it turns out she is pretty much potty trained, and willingly let me help her get on the potty.  Then it was nap time.  I was amazed that she willingly let me take her coat off of her.  I was fully prepared for that to be a battle.  However, she became obviously distressed about laying down, so I laid down beside her on the edge of the bed (Kylie was on the other side and then Caleb) and thankfully my presence brought about some peace for her.  I thought that she was asleep after about five minutes, so I got up and started toward my computer, but as it turned out, she was still awake.  She never cried, but there were a few controlled whimpers and I decided that comforting my sweet girl was more important than recording my memories, so I took her over to my and Ian's bed (the MOST comfortable bed I've ever slept in while in China ~ it actually may be more comfortable than my own at home.  The kids bed is a rock though) and snuggled down beside her.  And slept for nearly two hours...

When I woke up Ian and I decided that we'd better get the kids up so that we had a better shot of them sleeping through the night.  We had just opened the curtains, turned on the lights, and cranked up the Olympics on TV (great to be here during the Olympics, we are guaranteed something to watch on TV nearly 24/7 and don't need subtitles!) when Savor stopped by to see how things were going and offer some helpful tips for ordering at the restaurant next door.  We took advantage of an extra person in the room to get a family picture.

 

None of the kids are smiling (think "nap interrupted"), but this will always be one of my favorite pictures, the first one as our family of FIVE!

Then I spent some time getting things in order for today and Ian started pulling out some of the new toys to entertain the kids.  I had a mini-bowling set that was a real hit.  I think that they spent about 30 minutes taking turns rolling the marble at the tiny pins.

 

Kylie decides to love on her new sister while Caleb rolls the bowling ball.

After that I broke out the dress-up clothes while Ian worked on his chances for "bravest Caucasian in Hangzhou" (course there aren't that many...) by going back to the restaurant we had eaten at the night before (that's a great story that deserves it's own post!) and ordering take out.  I was too busy helping Kylie and Darcy put on dresses, skirts and tops to ever get the camera out, but man did they have fun.  (If you are coming to adopt a little girl, a gallon size Ziploc full of dress up clothes may be a hit!)  Caleb spent that time running his cars all over the beds, thankful that no other hands were trying to take his favorites for a little while.

Finally Ian made it back and we took a suitcase off the end table to enjoy our feast.  We had shrimp dumplings, BBQ pork dumplings, stir fried green beans, won ton soup, beef noodle soup, pot stickers, and three servings of rice and it cost about $12.  All of what we had was delicious!  And an answer to prayer, Darcy consumed nearly half of the beef noodle soup on her own along with several won tons and a large helping of green beans.  Thanks to Savor's tips we had a much better experience ordering than the previous night... (I promise I'll get that story up sometime, it rivals the Mr. Xie experience from Caleb's trip!)

 

Nothing promotes family bonding like one tiny table and no community food containers! 

One thing about noodles and rice is that they make a mess, both on the table and on the kids!  You know it is bad when Kylie actually requests to take a bath...  Ian and I decided to try our regular set-up of him bathing the kids, with the thought that I'd step in if Darcy was upset.  I did help her undress (again was surprised that she didn't really protest) and by that time her brother and sister were already splashing in the tub and she happily joined them.  I have to selfishly admit that I'm relieved that I'll continue to have my 30 minutes of Kristi time during baths each night while Ian gets some play time with all three.  Kylie did ask about Darcy's Mongolian spots on her back, but when Ian explained that was just the way God made Darcy, she replied, "Oh.  Well, I think it is pretty cool.  Why don't I have a Mongolian spot?  Cause God didn't make me that way?"  Love that kid, I think she is going to be a great "sister bear" to her mei mei!

  

Wonder how long he's gonna be able to do that?

I wasn't sure if Darcy would let me put her in pajamas, but when she saw that I had a set for her that matched Kylie's, she couldn't wait to get in them.  It is interesting that she is nearly as tall as Kylie, yet she can comfortably wear Carter's 3T pajamas, and Kylie needs the 4T.  She is built just like Kylie, long and lean.
 

My little man, still the self proclaimed "star" of the show. 

After a bit more Olympics and some serious snuggle time, it was time for bed.  Darcy again became distressed when we started turning out the lights, but she fell asleep rather quickly, along with her siblings, and I just sat and savored the moment of hearing them all deeply breathing in their symphony of sleep.  Before long both Darcy and Caleb had turned to face toward Kylie who was on her back in the middle.  I feared waking them up with the flash, so instead of a digital image, I'll have to rely on memory for the sweetness of the moment...